The OTHER 50 tracks...

I bumped into Zoilus last night at Trampoline Hall and we ended up chatting about his alterna-50 tracks exercise with Ottawa blogger Pregnant Without Intercourse. There are some genuinely insightful and also some amazingly funny moments so far:

1) Tragically Hip Vs. Rush
2) Lenny and his Casio
3) Why “A Case of You” is really a shitty song

And more gentle (or not so gentle) reader, oh so much more. Go check it out. I’m also going to keep plugging Sheila Heti’s book launch until the electric current jolts me and I pass out from arrythmia.

Book Reviews and Angry Asian Man

I'm writing a couple of book reviews for Broken Pencil. I also have reviews in the issue that's about to hit newsstands (eee, Steve Kado centrefold!).

Also, if you're in Toronto and want to start on the road of being a policy wonk, check out this event I'm helping to organize.

Also, if you haven't seen it yet check out Angry Asian Man's blog! Culture, politics, from an Asian American perspective, and not all of it angry!

Toronto the Beautiful

I went to the packed launch for PubliCity last night and between chatting with half of the editorial board of Spacing, sifting through buttons and chatting with photobloggers I came to the realization that Toronto is actually quite beautiful.

It's not like Vancouver or Sydney, which are just plain out, jawdroppingly, achingly beautiful but the fact that I'm living in Toronto now and not missing these places (Sydney, a little) is testament to something.

But many of these photobloggers have been impressing me for a long time. Just when I thought the city was an ugly, cruel, grey place that was beating me around; Rannie Turingan (http://photojunkie.ca/) posts a photo that makes me do a double take. Just when I start cursing my neighbourhood and Kyle Rae for his soulsucking development Matt O'Sullivan reminds me that there are some achingly beautiful places in the big smoke.

That doesn't mean that those of us living here should be complacent (ahem Vancouverites, are you listening). For every gorgeous photo of the lake I see on a photoblog, I'm reminded that an ugly highway still cuts off most of the city from the lake. A photo of rusted bikes reminds me that biking on the roads in Toronto means you're a second class citizen at the mercy of the cars on the road.

Yes Toronto, you really are beautiful but you can still be so cruel.

Photo from Daily Dose of Imagery

A few thoughts about Massive Change

So a few more things about Massive Change that didn't make it into my Torontoist piece:

In note form:

All this stuff was in Wired Magazine last year....

This feels like EPCOT, where's the monorail? And where's the overpriced food at the Japan Pavillion? (Sarah L. my editor felt like this too)

Why is the rubber chicken the defining souvenir from Massive Change? Is this a joke?

The room of photos is pretty cool!

Not being able to touch the cool textiles isn't, they're textiles damnit.

What?! No flying cars?

eye on blogs

Ooh, eye Weekly writes about blogs. I don't really agree with their picks for Toronto city blogs, but hey, no such thing as bad coverage.

Also, I'm scared of Bruce Mau (pictured here on the left). Here's why.

Bowling for Immigrants

No, it's not the new Michael Moore film. It's my friend's event.

Bowlers of the World Unite!
a fundraiser for immigrant rights

5-pins and a glowing disco ball!
Live music set from The Pick-Ups!
Rockin' tunes courtesy of Rose B. and Kristine K.!
Raffle Prizes from Cheese Magic, Images Festival,
I Deal Coffee,
Public,
Uprising Books, and more!
and... a LUNGE CONTEST!
with MC Maggie M. stirring up trouble!

@ Danforth Bowl
(1554 Danforth Ave., just steps west from Coxwell
subway station)
Friday March 18th, 7:30pm - midnight

$10-$20 sliding scale for a full night of bowling fun.
All proceeds from the event will benefit No One is
Illegal (Toronto).

Just in case you were wondering here are the pickups, aren't they just adorable.




Also raffle prizes from where I buy my cheese and my coffee! Bowling, alt country, and a good cause! How can you lose?!

Meanwhile, in another part of Boy Reporter's Brain

Boy Reporter is also Boy PR person. Here's an event I'm helping organize. Come on down if you're in Toronto and interested in policy (and who isn't!)

Title: POLICY FROM THE GROUND UP

Date: Tuesday, March 22

Time: Reception, 6:30pm; speeches begin 7:15pm

Place: International Living Learning Centre, Ryerson University.
International Room.

Confirmed Speakers:

BOB RAE, Author of the Rae Report on Post-Secondary Education;

KEN OGILVIE, Executive Director of Pollution Probe;

DAVID MESLIN Coordinator of the Toronto Public Space Committee and

GUY GIORNO, lawyer – Fasken and Martineau and former Mike Harris Chief of Staff.

Jens? Jens!

Go see my post on Torontoist about this man. After you read the post, go buy his album.

Swoon...

Sheila Heti (known as Mrs. Zoilus in some circles), quite possibly one of the first people I met in Toronto, all around great person and great writer has a new site and a new book (pictured here). I'm trying to wrangle her for an interview on Torontoist.